Interlocking flexible segments formed from a rigid material

ABSTRACT

A method for creating a flexible portion or bending portion within a rigid structure. The method can also be used for creating a flexible structure from a rigid material. The method includes providing a substantially rigid material, such as, but not limited to, metals, alloys, hard plastics, and the like, and selectively removing portions of the rigid material defining a geometric pattern in the rigid material. A bending radius of the flexible portion is defined by the geometric pattern. The rigid structure may be used to create an enclosure, a cover for an electronic device, one or more hinges, or the like.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application No.61/599,766, filed Feb. 16, 2012 and titled “Interlocking FlexibleSegments Formed from a Unitary Rigid Material;” the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to creating flexible portionswithin a rigid material and more specifically, to creating flexiblesegments for components of electronic devices.

BACKGROUND

Many electronic devices, peripheral components or devices (such asspeakers, headphones, keyboards, etc.) may include housings orenclosures made of a relatively rigid material, such as plastic ormetal. These types of enclosures are typically at least somewhat rigidin order to provide protection for internal components housed within theenclosures. However, due to the rigidity of the material, in order forthese type of enclosures or housings to bend or flex, a separateelement, such as a hinge, may need to be connected to the rigidmaterial. For example, laptop enclosures may include two separate rigidcomponents interconnected together by one or more hinges that allow thetwo components to move relative to each other. These additionalcomponents, such as hinges, may increase the size of the enclosures andthus the size of the electronic devices or peripheral devices, as wellas increase manufacturing costs as additional components may need to beassembled together.

SUMMARY

Examples of embodiments described herein may take the form of a methodfor creating an enclosure for an electronic device. The method includesproviding a rigid material and removing sections of the rigid materialto create a geometric pattern of interlocking features. The geometricpattern may define the flex of the rigid material.

Other embodiments may take the form of an enclosure formed of asubstantially rigid material. The enclosure may include a firstplurality of flex apertures defined within the rigid material along afirst row and a second plurality of flex apertures defined within therigid material along a second row. The second row is positioned belowthe second row and the first plurality of flex apertures are misalignedwith the second plurality of flex apertures such that a first end ofeach of the first plurality of flex apertures is in a different verticalplane from a first end of each of the second plurality of flexapertures. When a bending force is applied to one of the first row orthe second row, the first plurality of flex apertures and the secondplurality of flex apertures vary in shape or dimension, allowing therigid material to bend.

Yet other embodiments of the disclosure may take the form of a housingformed of a substantially rigid material. The housing may include afirst plurality of interlocking features defined within the rigidmaterial, a second plurality of interlocking features defined within therigid material, and a plurality of flex apertures defined between thefirst plurality of interlocking features and the second plurality ofinterlocking features to separate the first plurality of interlockingfeatures from the second plurality of interlocking features. The firstplurality of interlocking features is movable relative to the secondplurality of interlocking features.

Other embodiments of the disclosure may take the form of a method ofmanufacturing a flexible component. The method includes providing asubstantially rigid material and removing portions of the rigid materialto create a plurality of flex apertures. The flex apertures are definedby interlocking features of the rigid material, the interlockingfeatures are adjacent to each other and spaced apart from one another bythe flex apertures. Each interlocking features has at least one sidewalland an angle of the sidewall determines a radial bend the rigidmaterial. The rigid material formed using the disclosed method may benon-cylindrical, e.g., planar or a three-dimensional object thatincludes curves but is not substantially cylindrical.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method for creating a flexibleportion within a rigid material.

FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of an electronic device including anenclosure formed of a rigid material including a flexible portion.

FIG. 2B is a side elevation view of the electronic device including afirst embodiment of the enclosure.

FIG. 2C is a side elevation view of the electronic device including asecond embodiment of the enclosure.

FIG. 3A is a top perspective view of the rigid material forming theenclosure prior to being formed with the flexible portion.

FIG. 3B is a top plan view of the rigid material including a firstembodiment of a geometric portion forming the flexible portion.

FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of the geometric pattern of FIG. 3B duringbending.

FIG. 4B is a further enlarged view of the geometric pattern of FIG. 3Bduring bending.

FIG. 4C is a simplified side perspective view of the enclosure of FIG.2A including the geometric pattern of FIG. 3B with a top portionpartially angled with respect to a bottom portion.

FIG. 4D is a simplified side perspective view of the enclosure of FIG.2A including the geometric pattern of FIG. 3B with the top portionpositioned substantially parallel to the bottom portion.

FIG. 4E is an enlarged side perspective view of the enclosure of FIG.4D.

FIG. 5A is a top plan view of the rigid material including a secondembodiment of a geometric pattern forming the flexible portion.

FIG. 5B is a simplified side perspective view of the enclosure of FIG.2A including the geometric pattern of FIG. 5A with the top portionpositioned substantially parallel to the bottom portion.

FIG. 5C is an enlarged top plan view of the geometric pattern of FIG.5A.

FIG. 5D is an enlarged side elevation view of the geometric pattern ofFIG. 5A with the enclosure in the position illustrated in FIG. 5B.

FIG. 5E is an enlarged top perspective view of the geometric pattern ofFIG. 5A.

FIG. 5F is a top perspective view of a row of the geometric pattern ofFIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A is a top perspective view of a row of a third embodiment of thegeometric pattern forming the flexible portion.

FIG. 6B is a top perspective view of two rows of the geometric patternof FIG. 6A.

FIG. 6C is a side perspective view of a portion of the geometric patternof FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A is a top plan view of a fourth embodiment of the geometricpattern forming the flexible portion.

FIG. 7B is a top perspective view of the geometric pattern of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7C is a top plan view of an interlocking feature removed from thegeometric pattern of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of a pair of headphones including anenclosure with the geometric pattern of FIG. 6A defining the flexibleportion.

FIG. 8B is a side perspective view of one of the headphones bending byflexing along the flexible portion of the enclosure.

FIG. 9A is a top plan view of a cover for an electronic device includinga geometric pattern defined therein.

FIG. 9B is a side elevation view of the cover and the electronic deviceof FIG. 9A with the cover partially retracted.

FIG. 9C is a top perspective view of the cover and the electronic deviceof FIG. 9A with the cover fully retracted and acting as a support orstand for the electronic device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments described herein may take the form of a method forcreating a flexible portion or element within a rigid or substantiallyrigid material. It should be noted that the term rigid material as usedherein is meant to encompass rigid materials, semi-rigid (partiallyflexible materials), and substantially any materials where an increasedflexibility may be desired. For example, the rigid material may bemetal, carbon fiber, composites, ceramics, glass, sapphire, plastic, orthe like. The flexible portion or portions defined in the rigid materialmay function as a living hinge or mechanical hinge and allow the rigidmaterial to bend to a predetermined angle in a predetermined direction.In some embodiments, the flexible portion may be positioned atsubstantially any location of the rigid material and may span across oneor more dimensions of the rigid material (e.g., across a width, length,or height of the rigid material). In some instances, the rigid materialmay be substantially flat or planar, may represent a three-dimensionalobject (e.g., a molded or machined component), or the like.

The flexible portion may be defined by a geometric pattern that may berecessed and/or cut into the rigid material. In some embodiments, thegeometric pattern may define one more movable elements that areinterlocked together. The movable elements or interlocking features maymove relative to adjacent elements, but may be prevented fromdisconnecting from those adjacent elements. The flexible portion mayinclude a plurality of movable interlocked elements, each of which maymove a predetermined amount, so that the combination of the plurality ofmovable elements creates a bend point or area for the rigid material ordevice or enclosure made from the material. The amount of bending, thatis, the maximum angle through which the rigid material can deform if allmovable interlocked elements translate to their maximums, may be variedby changing either the degree of movement between individual interlockedmovable elements or the shape of one or more elements. Similarly, thebend angle, direction, pitch, and bend or flexing axis may vary with thegeometric pattern of the cuts. For example, a first geometric patternmay allow the rigid material to only bend along a single axis where as asecond geometric pattern may allow the rigid material to bend alongmultiple axes. As another example, by varying the angulation of theshape of the elements, the flexing radius may be modified.

The rigid material may include one or more different patterns, angles,or the like. In other words, the rigid material may have some sectionsthat are more flexible than others, which may be done by modifying thegeometric pattern, the angulation of the pattern, or the like.

In some embodiments, the method for creating the flexible portion may beused to create enclosures for electronic devices, including portableand/or peripheral devices. For example, an enclosure for a laptop may becreated from a rigid material having a flexible portion defined aroundapproximately a midpoint of the material. The flexible portion may allowthe rigid material to be folded in half and thus acts as a laptopclamshell. A top portion may support a display screen and a bottomportion may support a keyboard, track pad, and the like, while aninterior defined by sidewalls of the rigid material may house a varietyof electronic components in accordance with conventional laptopcomputing devices. In this manner, the enclosure (or a portion thereof)may be created from a single rigid material, while still providingflexibility and bending for the enclosure. As another example, themethod may be used to create a flexible cover for an electronic device,such as a cover for a tablet computer or smart phone.

As another example, the method may be used to create a housing or aportion of a housing for headphones. In this example, the flexiblesegments may cooperate to form an enclosure encompassing, andprotecting, a wire where it enters the enclosure of the headphone. Theenclosure at the connection location to the wire or cable may flexaround one or more axes to provide bending in multiple directions. Thisflexibility may substantially prevent the enclosure from cracking as thewire moves relative to the earpieces because the connection portion ofthe earpiece may move, at least in part, with the movement of thecommunication wire. Additionally, the flexibility may also help toprevent internal wires of the cable from breaking as the flexibility ofthe housing may increase the radius that the cable or wire may bend,thus providing strain relief to the internal wires as it is bent.

Yet other examples include using the method to create bands, straps, orcables having flexible sections or that may be substantially flexible.As a specific example, the method may be used to create a band that maysupport an electronic device, such as an arm band for holding a portableelectronic device on a user's bicep. As another specific example, themethod may also be used to create strain relief sections for cables,straps, or the like. The method may further be used to create handles,cases, bags, purses, or the like.

Turning now to the figures, a method for creating a flexible portion ina rigid material will be discussed in more detail. FIG. 1 is a flowchart for a method 100 for creating a flexible portion within a rigidmaterial. The method 100 may begin with operation 102 and the rigidmaterial may be formed or otherwise provided. In some embodiments, therigid material may be metal injection molded into a desired shape, theshape of the rigid material may be milled or otherwise cut from a blockor sheet of material, or other manufacturing techniques may be used. Therigid material may be substantially any material where an increasedflexibility is desired. For example the material may include metals,metal alloys, plastics, composite materials (e.g., carbon fiberreinforced plastic, magnetic or conductive materials, glass fiberreinforced materials, or the like), ceramics, sapphire, glasses, printedcircuit boards, and the like. Additionally, the rigid material mayinclude a combination of two or more materials connected together (e.g.,through adhesive, welding, or the like). As one example, in instanceswhere a first material may be brittle (e.g., glass), the material may belaminated or otherwise connected to another less brittle material andthen the combined material may be modified using the method 100.

The formation process used in operation 102 to create the rigid materialmay be varied depending on the type of material used and/or thesize/dimensions of the desired shape. For example, in instances wherethe material is a hard plastic, injection molding may be used to createthe material. However, injection molding may not be desired for othertypes of materials. Additionally, operation 102 may be optional. Forexample, in some instances, the rigid material may be provided fromanother source (e.g., manufacturer) and then may be manipulated, asdiscussed in more detail below, to provide the flexible portion.Accordingly, in some instances, the rigid material may be in the form ofa three-dimensional shape, such as the formed shape of a molded ormilled component. Also, it should be noted that the thickness of therigid material may vary as desired based on the use of the material orshape of the component.

The shape of the rigid material after operation 102 may not be the finalshape of the component as some features such as a small or complexapertures, or finishes such as rounded edges, coatings, painting, andthe like may be completed after the method 100 has completed. In otherembodiments, such as those where the rigid material may be injectionmolded, the shape of the rigid material after operation 102 may besubstantially the same as the final shape of the rigid material(excluding the changes in shape due to operation 110 discussed in moredetail below). FIG. 3A illustrates a top plan view of the rigid materialafter operation 102, and is discussed in more detail below.Alternatively or additionally, the rigid material may include one orfinishes, coatings, decorations, or the like, prior to being manipulatedduring the method 100. For example, the rigid material may be painted,anodized, layered with one or more coatings, films, or the like, may beapplied to the material prior to operations 104 and 106 (discussedbelow).

After operation 102 and the shape of the rigid material is created, themethod 100 may proceed to operation 104 and a geometric pattern may bedetermined. In operation 104, the desired bending direction or axis,bending angle or degree, size of apertures within the material, and/orspring rate for the flexible portion may be analyzed to determine thedesired geometric pattern. The geometric pattern may be created by aprocessor executing one more algorithms or may be determined by a user.The pattern may take into a number of desired characteristics for theflexibility of the rigid material. For example, increasing the angle ofthe cuts in the geometric pattern may increase the bending radius of thematerial. As another example, decreasing the width of the cuts or theremoved material may reduce the bending radius. In addition to thebending characteristics listed above, there may be additionalcharacteristics of the geometric pattern, such as an aestheticappearance of the pattern, type of material to be used, and so on thatmay also be taken into account. Different examples of geometric patternshaving one or more of the above-listed characteristics are discussed inmore detail below with respect to FIGS. 4A, 5A, 6A, and 7A.

The geometric pattern chosen may include one or more patterns. Forexample, a first section of the material may be selected to have a firstgeometric pattern with a first bend radius whereas a second section ofthe material may be selected to have a second geometric pattern with asecond bend radius. In this manner, the two sections of the material(when finished) may have different bend flexibilities. As anotherexample, a first side of the material may include a first geometricpattern and a second side of the material may include a second geometricpattern. In other words, the front side pattern may not match thebackside pattern. In this manner, the material may have a first bendradius when bent in a first direction (e.g., the front rolled uponitself) and a second bend radius when bent in a second direction (e.g.,the back side rolled upon itself).

Once the geometric pattern has been determined, the method 100 mayproceed to operation 106 and the pattern may be provided to a cuttingmechanism or device. In some embodiments, the geometric pattern mayinclude sharp corners and/or small apertures. In these embodiments, thecutting device may be a laser cutting machine, which may use a laser tocut or engrave the geometric pattern into the rigid material. In otherembodiments, the cutting device may be an electrical discharge machiningmay be used and a wire or probe may be used to remove material in theshape of the geometric pattern. In either of these embodiments, thegeometric pattern may be provided to the cutting device in the form ofdata. For example, the geometric pattern may be provided to the cuttingdevice by communicating data, such as in the form engineering drawings,computer-aided-design (CAD) files, computer aided manufacturing (CAM)files, or computer numerical control (CNC) files, to a processor orother component within the cutting device.

After operation 106, the method 100 may proceed to operation 108 and thegeometric pattern may be incorporated into the rigid material. In someembodiments, the cutting device may remove sections or portions of therigid material to form the geometric pattern. For example, in instanceswhere the cutting device is a laser, a laser beam may cut apertures intothe rigid material or remove one or more layers of the rigid material tocreate a recess within the rigid material. The laser beam may melt, cut,burn, and/or vaporize the material to create the apertures and/orrecesses (engraved portions) within the rigid material. In embodimentsutilizing a laser as the cutting mechanism, the laser may include amulti-axis head that can shift as appropriate to create the angulationand other requirements of the geometric pattern or patterns. Forexample, the position of the head of the laser may be modified based onthe shape of the cuts, while maintaining a single cut through a portionof the material.

In other embodiments, for example, where the cutting device is a waterjet or other pressurized cutter, the material may be removed by apressurized stream water which may optionally include one or moreabrasive materials to assist in removing the rigid material. Othercutting devices are also envisioned, but may depend on the complexity ofthe geometric pattern and/or the type of material for the rigidmaterial. For example, electrical discharge machining (EDM) may be usedand a wire or probe may be used to remove material in the shape of thegeometric pattern.

It should be noted that certain portions of the geometric pattern mayhave apertures defined through the rigid material, whereas otherportions of the geometric pattern may include recesses defined onlythrough one or two layers of the rigid material (that is, they do notpierce through the rigid material).

After operation 108 in which the geometric pattern has been engravedand/or cut into the rigid material, the method 100 may proceed tooperation 110. In operation 110, a computer and/or a user may determinewhether another component should be manufactured. If another componentis to be manufactured, the method 100 may return to operation 102.However, if another component is not going to be manufactured, themethod 100 may terminate at an end state.

Alternatively, in instances where the material and/or the component maynot be finalized or otherwise requires additional processing, the methodmay include an additional operation of finalizing or finishing thematerial. For example, one or more coatings, paints, decorations, orfinishes may be applied to the material after it has been cut. Ininstances where finishes may be applied after the material has been cutwith the geometric pattern, the coatings may be applied to extend aroundthe sidewalls of the material formed by the cuts. However, as discussedabove, in some embodiments, the material or component may besubstantially finalized or otherwise included the desired finishes priorto being cut. In these instances, the material may not need to befurther processed. Moreover, it should be noted that the flexiblesections may be created in a rigid material that is mounted withinanother component or fixture.

The method 100 may also be used to create components having one or moreflexible portions or components that are entirely flexible. In someembodiments, sheets or large portions of a rigid material may be cutusing the method 100, and once cut with a geometric pattern, one or moreshapes or smaller components may be cut therefrom. For example, a largesheet of a rigid material may be cut with a geometric pattern along itsentire length and then a plurality of smaller pieces of the material maybe cut or stamped from the large sheet. In this example, the smallerpieces may be entirely flexible along their entire length, width, orother dimension. As another example, the rigid material that is cutusing the method 100 may include one or more extrusions, apertures, orthe like. As a specific example, a hole or aperture may be cut into acenter of the rigid material (before or after the rigid material isprocessed using the method 100) and the geometric pattern may extendaround the aperture. In this example, the edges of the aperture may flexdue to the geometric pattern, allowing the material surrounding theaperture to remain flexible.

The method 100 and the geometric patterns discussed in more detail belowmay be used to create interlocking segments for a material, where thematerial shape may not be cylindrical. The geometric patterns, such asthose patterns utilizing angled sidewalls or angulation, may allowsheets and other non-cylindrical items to be cut and remained connectedtogether. In other words, rather than relying solely on the shape of theobject itself to maintain the connection of the components of thegeometric pattern, the geometric pattern, rather than the shape of theobject, may be used to allow the object to remain interconnected,despite the apertures defined through the object. Thus, the method 100may be used to create components and materials for number of differentapparatuses and items.

Illustrative enclosures formed using the method 100 of FIG. 1 will nowbe discussed. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an electronic device 200including an enclosure 202 formed of a substantially rigid material 230including a strain relief or flexible portion 204. The enclosure 202 mayat least partially surround one or more components of the electronicdevice 200, such as a keyboard 206, track pad 208, and/or a display 210.Further, although not shown, the enclosure 202 may house one or moreinternal components (also not shown) of the electronic device 200, suchas a processor, storage medium, and so on. It should be noted that,although the electronic device 200 in FIG. 2A is illustrated as acomputer, other electronic devices are envisioned. For example, theenclosure 202 may be used to for smart phones, digital music players,display screens or televisions, video game consoles, set top boxes,telephones, and so on. The method 100 may also be used to createenclosures (or portions thereof) for one more peripheral devices such askeyboards, mice, connection cables or cords, earphones, and so on.Further, the method 100 may be used to create bands (such as an arm bandto support an electronic device), garage doors, straps, handles, cases,bags, covers for electronic devices such as tablet computers orelectronic reading devices, shades or blinds, and substantially anyother components which may require flexibility.

The enclosure 202 may also include one or more connection apertures 212defined therein. The connection apertures 212 may be defined during themethod 100, or in another manner (e.g., while the rigid material isbeing formed). The connection apertures 212 may receive one or morecables, such as communication, data, and/or power cables, to provide aconnection port for the those cables to the electronic device 200. Forexample, the connection apertures 212 may define an input/output portfor universal serial bus (USB) cable, a power cable, or a tip ringsleeve connector. The position, size, number, and/or shape of theconnection apertures may be varied depending on the desired connectivityfor the electronic device 100.

The flexible portion 204 of the enclosure 202 may allow the enclosure202 (specifically, the rigid material 230) to bend in at least onedirection. FIG. 2B is a side elevation view of the electronic device 200in a closed position, with the enclosure 202 folded at the flexibleportion 204. The enclosure 202 may bend so that a top 224 of theenclosure 202 may be folded onto or positioned adjacent to a bottom 226of the enclosure 202. In other words, the top 224 may be rotated from aperpendicular, obtuse, or other angular orientation with respect to thebottom 226 (see FIG. 2A) to a substantially parallel orientation withthe respect to the bottom 226. For example, in instances where theelectronic device 200 is a laptop computer, the display 210 may beoperably connected to the top 224 and may be rotated downwards towardsthe bottom 226, closing the electronic device 200. In this manner, theenclosure 202 may function as a clamshell in that it may selectivelyrotate around an axis to position the top 224 relative to the bottom226. It should be noted that in other embodiments, both the top andbottom 224, 226 may rotate relative to each other or only one of the topor bottom 224, 226 may rotate. The flexible portion 204 and the rotationof the top 224 and bottom 226 will be discussed in more detail below.

With reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the top 224 and bottom 226 mayinclude one more portions operably connected together. The top 224 mayinclude a first or outer portion 214 and a second or inner portion 216operably connected to define a cavity within the top 224. Similarly, thebottom 226 may include a first or outer portion 218 and a second orinner portion 220 that may be operably connected together to define acavity within the bottom 226. The cavities (not shown) may receive theone or more internal components of the electronic device 200, as well asmay at least partially receive the display 210, the keyboard 206, and/orthe track pad 208.

In some embodiments, the outer portion 214, 218 may have substantiallythe same depth as the respective inner portion 216, 220. In other words,the outer portion 214 may have a depth that may be approximately halfthe depth of the cavity and the second portion 216 may have a depth thatmay have approximately half of the depth of the cavity. In theseembodiments, the outer portions 214, 218 may be formed of a single rigidmaterial 230 and the inner portions 216, 220 may be formed of a separaterigid material that may be operably connected to the outer portions 214,218.

With reference to FIG. 2B, in embodiments where the top 224 and bottom226 include two or more portions 214, 216, 218, 220, the outer portions214, 218 may include the flexible portion 204 and the inner portions216, 220 may include an inner or second flexible portion 228. The innerflexible portion 228 may be substantially the same as the outer flexibleportion 204, so that the inner portions 216, 220 may have approximatelythe same bend angle and movement range as the outer portions 214, 218.The second inner flexible portion 228 defined on the inner portions 216,220 may be substantially similar to the flexible portion 204.

In other embodiments, the inner portions 216, 220 may be panels orplates, or may have otherwise have a reduced depth compared to the depthof the outer portions 214, 218. In yet other embodiments, the top 224and bottom 226 may include a single portion, and the cavity may becreated by removing material through one or more apertures within thetop 224 and/or bottom 226. FIG. 2C is a side elevation view of the top224 and bottom 226 formed of a single rigid material 230. For example,the top 224 may be at least partially hollowed out to define a surfaceand four sidewalls extending therefrom, and the display 210 may beoperably connected to the surface and sidewalls to enclose the surface.Similarly, the bottom 226 may be formed to receive the keyboard 206,which may form the cover portion for the bottom 226 cavity to cover theinternal components. The construction of the enclosure 202 may be varieddepending on the desired size, dimensions, and/or electronic device 200be housed by the enclosure 202.

In embodiments where either the outer portions 214, 218 and/or the innerportions 216, 220 may from a panel or cover, the respective portions mayterminate prior to the flexible portion 204 and thus the flexibleportion 204 may form the entire hinge for the top 224 and bottom 226.Similarly, in embodiments where the top 224 and bottom 226 are formed ofa single portion as shown in FIG. 2C, the flexible portion 204 may formthe only hinge for the enclosure 202. In these embodiments, a singlematerial portion may form the entire enclosure 202. That is, theenclosure 202 may be substantially unibody in that it may be formed forma single piece of material. However, due to the flexible portion 204,discussed in more detail below, the enclosure 202 may bend in order tofold the top 224 towards the bottom 226 or vice versa. Briefly, theflexible portion 204 includes a geometric pattern includinginterconnected elements that may move or change shape relative to eachother in order to provide a flexibility the rigid material 230 formingthe enclosure 202.

FIG. 3A is a top perspective view of an at least partially rigidmaterial 230 prior to being formed with the flexible portion 204. Therigid material 230 may form one of the outer portions 214, 218 and/orone of the inner portions 216, 220 (see FIG. 2B). In other embodiments,the rigid material 230 may form both the top 224 and bottom 226 whenformed of a single portion (see FIG. 2C).

As described above, with respect to FIG. 1, the method 100 may be usedto create the flexible portion 204 within the rigid material 230 bydefining a geometric pattern into the rigid material 230. FIG. 3A is atop plan view of the rigid material 230 including a geometric pattern232. FIG. 4A is an enlarged top plan view of the rigid material 230 witha geometric pattern 232 formed therein to define the flexible portion204. The geometric pattern 232 may be varied depending on the desiredbend angle, position, spring rate, and the like. In one embodiment, asshown in FIG. 4A, the geometric pattern 232 may be a series ofinterconnected flex apertures 234 positioned apart from one another todefine spacing sections or interlocking features 236. There may be oneor more rows 238, 240 of flex apertures 234 that may be misaligned fromone another. For example, a first row 238 may include flex apertures 234offset from flex apertures 234 within a second row 240 positioneddirectly below the first row 238. In this manner, the flex apertures 234of adjacent rows 238, 240 may begin and terminate at varying locationsfrom one another.

The flex apertures 234, as discussed in more detail below, may begenerally linearly shaped apertures formed within the rigid material230. In some instances, the flex apertures 234 may have a diameter orwidth that may be selected so that before the rigid material 230 isflexed or bent, the flex apertures 234 may not be substantially visible,improving the aesthetic appearance of the rigid material 230. In otherwords, prior to bending, the flexible portion 204 may not substantiallystand out in appearance from the other surfaces of the rigid material230.

During the method 100, the flex apertures 234 may be formed so that thesidewalls surrounding each aperture 234 may have different angularorientations throughout the thickness of the material 230. That is, theflex apertures 234 may have different dimensions through the thicknessof the material 230, as the sidewalls 254 may vary in angularorientation (width). The varying dimensions of the flex apertures 234may allow the rigid material 230 forming the sidewalls 254 to be able tobend or fold, while still maintaining structural strength.

With reference to FIG. 4A, the combination of the first row 238 and thesecond row 240 may be repeated throughout a length of the flexiblesection 204. For example, a third row 242 may include flex apertures 234that may be substantially aligned with the flex apertures 234 of thefirst row 238. Similarly, a fourth row 244 may include flex apertures232 that may be substantially aligned with the flex apertures 234 of thesecond row 240. In these embodiments, the flex apertures 234 may beconsidered to be aligned if a first end 246 of the flex aperture 234 ispositioned in a same vertical plane as the first end 246 of another flexaperture 234 and a second end 248 may be positioned in a same verticalplane as the second end 248 of another flex aperture 234 in another row.

The shape and/or dimensions of the flex apertures 234 may be varieddepending on the desired flexibility of the rigid material 230. Forexample, the larger the flex apertures 234, the larger the flexibilityof the rigid material 230; however, the increase in size of the flexapertures 234 may lead to a corresponding reduction in rigidity and/orstrength for the rigid material. Accordingly, the size of the flexapertures 234 may be balanced against a desired level of rigidityrequired to best protect the internal components of the electronicdevice 202 from damage.

FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of a portion of the geometric pattern 232during bending. With reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, in some embodiments,as the rigid material 230 bends along the flexible portion 204 the flexapertures 234 may deform or stretch to be generally diamond shaped asrigid material 230 is stretched. Specifically, in some embodiments, theflex apertures 234 may be generally linearly shaped when formed andduring bending may stretch for form a diamond shape in order toaccommodate the bending force without breaking the material 230. Forexample, from the first end 246, the aperture may expand in atriangularly shaped manner, to form two apexes 250, 252, a top apex 250and a bottom apex 250, 252. The two apexes 250, 252 may be aligned withone another, such that the top apex 259 may be positioned over thebottom apex 252. From the two apexes 250, 252 the aperture 234 maydescend downwards towards the second end 248. The second end 248 may besubstantially laterally aligned with the first end 246. As the bendingforce is applied to the rigid material 230, the top surface of the flexaperture 234 and the bottom surface may expand away from each other todefine the apexes 250, 252. As the bending force increases, the apexes250, 252 may expand farther away from one another.

In other embodiments, the flex apertures 234 may be diamond shaped whenformed, and thus the diamond may be expanded rather than the portions ofa linear line expanding into a diamond shape due to the bending force.

It should be noted that in some embodiments after bending, the rigidmaterial 230 may experience some plastic deformation in that the shapeof the flex apertures 234 may be somewhat deformed and remain in thediamond shape, rather than the linear shape as originally formed.However, in other embodiments, due to the reduced thickness of thesidewalls 254, the sidewalls 254 may resiliently return to theiroriginal shape, so that after the bending force is removed the shape ofthe flex apertures 234 when the bending ends, may return to the originallinear shape.

The flex apertures 234 may be defined by sidewalls 254 within the rigidmaterial 230. That is, the flex apertures 234 may be defined by thematerial surrounding the portions of material removed by the cuttingmachine during operation 108 of the method 100 in FIG. 1. The sidewalls254 may allow the size of the flex aperture 234 to vary in dimension asthe flexible portion 204 bends. For example, the two apexes 250, 252 mayextend away from each other to increase the size of the flex aperture234 or may extend towards each other to decrease the size of the flexaperture 234. Similarly, the two ends 246, 248 may be compressed towardseach other or extend away from each other to vary the size of the flexaperture 234.

As briefly discussed above, in some embodiments, the shape of the flexapertures 234 may change along a depth or thickness of the rigidmaterial 230. For example, on a first side 260 of the material 230, theflex apertures 234 may have a first size and/or shape and on a secondside 264 of the material 230 the flex apertures 234 may have a secondsize and/or shape. This may be possible as the sidewalls 254 may vary insize along a thickness of the material. FIG. 4C is a side perspectiveview of the rigid material 230 being partially bent. FIG. 4D is a sideperspective view of the rigid material 230 being more fully bent. Asshown best in FIG. 4D, a first side of the flex aperture 262 may have asmaller diameter and a second side 262 of the flex aperture 234 may havea diameter that is larger than the diameter on the first side 260 of thematerial 230. In this manner, the sidewalls 254 may form a triangular orfrustum shape in profile.

This may also allow the geometric pattern to be varied between the firstside of the material 260 and the second side 264 of the material. Inother words, the first side 260 may include a first geometric patternand the second side may include a second geometric pattern, one or bothpatterns may also be selected not only for angulation and bend radius,but also based on aesthetics. As one example, the first side geometricpattern may be selected based on its bending properties and the secondside geometric pattern may be selected based on its aestheticproperties. However, in other embodiments, the geometric pattern on bothsides of the material may be selected to be substantially identical.

The triangular shape of the sidewalls 254 (in profile) may help toprevent the sidewalls 254 of adjacent rows 238, 240 from encounteringeach other as the rigid material 230 is folded or otherwise bent.Further, the triangular shape of the sidewalls 254 may allow the flexapertures 234 to be more flexible on the inner surface 262 of thematerial 230 than on the outer surface 260 as the sidewalls 254 may bethicker in width towards the outer surface 260. The angular orientationof the sidewalls 254 may also act as a “stop” to prevent, reduce, orresist bending a in a particular direction. This may help to protectinternal components of the electronic device 200 from damage. Forexample, as the rigid material 230 may be used to form the enclosure202, the angular orientation of the sidewalls 254 may prevent bendingpast a predetermined angle so that enclosure 202 does not “over bend”and potentially damage internal components from damage. Additionally,the angle of the sidewalls 254 may prevent or substantially resistbending in a particular direction. Further, by varying the thickness orsize of the sidewalls 254, the flexible portion may become more or lessrigid.

The shape of the sidewalls 254 may allow the flex apertures 234 to havean increased expansion during bending in the middle of each aperture234, which may simultaneously minimize stresses on the sidewalls 254surrounding the apertures 234. This allows the flexible portion 204 tobend without breaking or cracking the rigid material 230, including thesidewalls 254 surrounding each of the flex apertures 234.

With reference to FIGS. 4D and 4E, due to the geometric pattern 232, theflexible portion 204 may bend along one or more axes, although theflexible portion 204 may be an integral portion of the rigid material230. In FIGS. 4D and 4E, the top 224 is shown folded over the bottom226. To cause the top 224 to be forced towards the bottom 226, a forcemay be applied to the top 224 compressing it towards the bottom 226 andthe flex apertures 234 surrounding a rotation axis A may vary in size.Some of the flex apertures 234 may expand whereas others may decrease.Additionally, the sidewalls 254 surrounding the rotation axis A may becompressed towards one another. This is possible as a thickness of thesidewalls 254 may be decreased on the inner side 262 of the rigidmaterial 230 (due to the shape of the flex apertures 234), whichprovides additional flexibility to the rigid material 230 andspecifically the sidewall 254. The rotation axis A may be varieddepending on the position of the compression force acting on the top224.

As shown in FIG. 4D, in a second position of the enclosure 202, the top224 may be positioned substantially parallel to the bottom 226, anddepending on the thickness of the top 224 and/or bottom 226, the top 224and bottom 226 may be positioned in contact with one another. In someembodiments, the flexible portion 204 may have a spring force, such thatas the flex apertures 234 vary in shape to accommodate the bendingforces of the top 224 and/or bottom 226, a spring force may accumulate.In these embodiments, depending on the weight of the top 226 (and othercomponents operably connected thereto), when the bending force isreleased, the flexible portion 204 may return to an open or firstposition. However, in other embodiments, the weight of the top 226, thespring force of the flexible portion 204, or the weight of anycomponents operably connected to the top 224 may allow the top 224 toremain in position until adjusted by a user or the like. For instance,after the top 224 has been positioned in the closed position, it mayremain substantially in position, at least partially parallel to thebottom 226. In yet other embodiments, the geometric pattern 232 may bevaried so that the flex apertures 234 may be configured to maintain theenclosure 202 in a predetermined position. For example, the geometricpattern 232 may be configured so that the sidewalls 254 may besubstantially rigid or may deform slightly so that after the bendingforce is removed, the rigid material 230 may remain in the bentposition. For example, certain portions of the geometric pattern 232 mayhave different shapes, sizes, or other characteristics in order to allowthe enclosure 202 to remain in a partially bent or fully bentconfiguration when the bending force is removed.

The geometric pattern 232 may be varied to alter one or morecharacteristics, such as the maximum bend angle or direction, of theflexible portion 204. FIG. 5A is a top plan view of the rigid material230 including another embodiment of the geometric pattern 282. FIG. 5Bis a side elevation view of the rigid material 230 including thegeometric pattern 282 in an bent position. FIG. 5C is an enlarged topelevation view of flexible portion 204 of FIG. 5A. FIG. 5D is anenlarged view of a row of the geometric pattern removed from the rigidmaterial 230. FIG. 5E is an enlarged view of the geometric pattern 282in FIG. 5B. The geometric pattern 282 in this embodiment may include oneor more interlocking features separated from one another by flexapertures 284. Each of the interlocking features 286 may move relativeto adjacent interlocking features 286 due to the flex apertures 284.Thus, in these embodiments, the flex apertures 296 may not stretch orexpand due to the bending force as in the FIG. 4A embodiment, but rathermay be increased or decreased due to the relative movement of theinterlocking features 286 with respect to each other.

The interlocking features 286 may be shaped in a number of differentmanners, which may vary the bending available for the flexible portion204. With reference to FIG. 5D, in some embodiments, the interlockingfeatures 286 may include a narrow neck 302 extending from an edge of therigid material 230 or for interlocking features 286 within an innerportion of the geometric pattern 282, a strip 312 of material. The neck302 may expand outwards forming a head 304. The neck 302 and the head304 may form an inverted frustum, with the head 304 extending away fromthe edge 306 of the rigid material 230 or an edge of the strip 312.

Adjacent interlocking features 286 extending from the same edge 306 orstrip 312 may be substantially similar. As the flex apertures 284 aredefined by the sidewalls of the interlocking features 286, the perimeterof the flex apertures 284 may generally trace the perimeter of theinterlocking features 286. As such, the flex apertures 284 may also begenerally frustum shaped. However, the flex apertures 284 may be alignedoppositely to the interlocking features 286 (for a single row 298, 300)such that the head or wide portion 308 of the flex aperture 284 mayextend into the strip 312 of material, whereas the head 304 of theinterlocking features 286 may extend away from the strip 312. Further,the flex apertures 284 may be cut between rows to define theinterlocking features 286, and as such, the interlocking features 286 ofvertically adjacent rows may be received in the flex apertures 234 ofthe adjacent row and the flex apertures 284 may separate rows ofinterlocking features 286 from each other. The width of the flexapertures 284 may be selected based on a desired bend radius of thematerial. For example, the finer the width of the flex apertures 284,the smaller the bend radius.

The flex apertures may be integrally formed apertures that extend alongan entire dimension of the rigid material, e.g., along the entire lengthor width. The flex apertures may form curved or undulating lines thatseparate two portions of the material from each other by a spacing gap.Due to the curved nature of the flex apertures, the interlockingfeatures may be locked together, although the material may bedisconnected by the flex apertures. The spacing gap or the size of theflex apertures may be varied between a first side of the material and asecond side of the material.

With continued reference to FIGS. 5A and 5C, there may be one or morerows 298, 300 of interlocking features 286 defined within the rigidmaterial 230. The number of rows 298, 300 may depend on the desiredamount of bending or flexibility for the rigid material 230. The morerows 298, 300 within the geometric pattern 282, the more portions of therigid material 230 may be flexible. In some embodiments, the rows 298,300 may define strips 312 or lengths of rigid material 230 havinginterlocking features 286 extending from either side. For example, a row298, 300 may be positioned between two other rows, and thus may includeinterlocking features 286 extending from opposite sides thereof in orderto interlock with the adjacent rows. As another example, the rigidmaterial may have a plurality of rows that extend along its entirelength or width, so that the material may be flexible along an entiredimension.

With reference to FIG. 5D, the interlocking features 286 may includesidewalls 294 forming an outer perimeter of each respective interlockingfeature 286. The sidewalls 294 may extend between the inner surface 262and the outer surface 260. In some embodiments, the sidewalls 294 mayvary in thickness between the inner surface 262 and the outer surface260. In these embodiments, the sidewalls 294 may angle upwards from onesurface 260, 262 towards the other, such that the angle of the sidewalls294 with respect to a plane of the outer surface 260 may vary along thedepth or thickness of the sidewall 294. Additionally, the sidewalls 294may be varied in angular orientation from each other (with respect tothe plane of the outer surface 260). For example, as shown in FIG. 5D,the first sidewall 316 may extend into the flex aperture 284 and asecond sidewall 314 may extend away from the flex aperture 284.

With reference to FIGS. 5F and 5E, in some instances, a first sidewall316 may form a first side of the interlocking feature 286 and the secondsidewall 314 may form a second side of the interlocking feature 286.Accordingly, the first side of the interlocking feature 286 may beangled inwards from the outer surface 260 to the inner surface 262 andthe second side of the interlocking feature 286 may be angled outwardsfrom the outer surface 260 to the inner surface 262. In someembodiments, laterally adjacent interlocking features 286 may haveopposite sides that extend inwards or outwards. For example, a firstinterlocking feature 286 may have a right side extending inwards and aleft side extending outwards and a second interlocking feature 286adjacent to the first interlocking feature 286 may have a right sideextending outwards and a left side extending inwards.

The angled sidewalls may allow the base or rigid material to be shapedin a number of different ways. For example, the angled walls may allowthe rigid material to have la substantially planar shape and as thematerial bends (due to the flex apertures), the flex apertures mayremain interconnected through the angled walls. Additionally, the pitchof the sidewalls may be varied to vary the bending radius, and the pitchmay be variable in the material, such that certain portions of thematerial may have a first bending radius and other portions of thematerial may have a second bending radius.

With continued reference to FIGS. 5F, as viewed from the top plan view,along the outer surface 260 the interlocking features 286 may appear tobe substantially the same dimensions. However, along the inner surface262, the interlocking features 286 may have varying sidewall 294thicknesses. For example, a first flex aperture 290 may have a decreaseddiameter along the inner surface 262 as compared with a second laterallyadjacent flex aperture 292. The varying thicknesses, may allow laterallyadjacent interlocking features 286 to have differing angles of movement.A first interlocking feature 286 received within the first flex aperture290 may be able to extend downwards towards the inner surface 262,whereas a second interlocking feature 286 received within the secondflex aperture 292 may not be able to extend the same amount inwardstowards the inner surface 262 due to the decreased size of the secondflex aperture 292. Conversely, the first interlocking feature receivedwithin the first flex aperture 290 may not be able to extend as farupwards towards the outer surface 260 as the second interlocking featurereceived within the second flex aperture 292.

In embodiments where the interlocking features 286 have varying angledsidewalls 294, the dimensions of the flex apertures 284 defined bylaterally adjacent interlocking features 286 may be different from eachother. That is, a first flex aperture 290 may be larger (when viewedfrom the inner surface 262) than a second flex aperture 292 definedalong the same row 298 and laterally adjacent to the first flex aperture290. The varying dimensions of the flex apertures 284 due the varyingangular changes of the sidewalls 294, may function to interlock theinterlocking features 286 from adjacent rows to the together, whilestill allowing the interlocking features 286 to move relative to eachother.

With reference to FIGS. 5B and 5E, bending the rigid material 230 willnow be discussed in more detail. As a force is applied to one or both ofthe top 224 and bottom 226, the rigid material 230 may bend along anaxis A positioned within the flexible portion 204. The force may causeone or more rows 298, 300 of the interlocking features 286 to moverelative to each other. For example, as shown in FIG. 5E, selectinterlocking features 286 may extend slightly outwards away from a planeof the material 230. However, due to the alternating sidewall 314, 316thicknesses and the flex apertures 284 dimensions, the interlockingfeatures 284 may remain substantially secured together. The freedom ofmovement in at least one direction may provide sufficient strain relieffor the rigid material 230 to allow it to bend along the axis A withoutcracking or breaking.

It should be noted that other rotation axes are possible other than axisA. The location of the rotation axis A may depend on the orientation ofthe geometric pattern 282 as well as the location of the bending force.In some embodiments, the rotation axis A may be positioned substantiallyanywhere along the flexible portion 204. In other embodiments, therotation axis may be fixed in a single position and may form a livinghinge in that the material 230 such that the material 230 may only beable to rotate along that single axis. The rotation axis may be definedby the degree of movement between adjacent interlocking features.Accordingly, by restricting or reducing the movement of certain featuresrelative to others, the flexible portion 204 may be configured to onlyrotate or bend along an axis that may be aligned with other featuresthat may have increased movement relative to other interlockingfeatures.

In another embodiment, sidewalls of the interlocking features may besimilarly angled. FIG. 6A is a top plan view of another embodiment ofthe interlocking features for the geometric pattern 282. In thisembodiment, interlocking features 382 may be movably secured together bya neck portion 410 of the flex apertures 384. That is, a head portion406 of the interlocking features 384 may substantially touch laterallyadjacent head portions 406 so that the neck portion 410 may berelatively narrow.

In these embodiments, the head portions 406 of interlocking rows may bepinched by the head portions 402 of the other row of interlockingfeatures 396. FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of a first row 398 interlockedwith a second row 400. FIG. 6C is an enlarged perspective view of thegeometric pattern 382. As the head portion 406 may be wider than theneck portion 410 of the flex apertures 384, first row 400 may besubstantially prevented from becoming disconnected from the second row398. However, the first row 400 may move in a first plane relative tothe second row 398, until the sidewalls of the first interlockingfeature 398A encounter the sidewalls of the second interlocking features398B defining the flex aperture 384. For example, the sidewalls 394 maybe angled as they extend from the outer surface 260 to the inner surface262, so that the upper portions of the sidewalls 394 may be narrowerthan the bottom portions of the sidewalls 394. This may allow the topportions of the sidewalls 394 to be movable relative to adjacentinterlocking features 386, while the bottom portions of the sidewalls394 may be secured in place. Additionally, in some embodiments, thesidewalls of the interlocking features 386 for the first row 398 may beoppositely angled from the sidewall of the interlocking features 386 forthe second row 400

Further, the first interlocking feature 386A may also move in a secondplane, e.g., in the Y direction away from the plane of the rigidmaterial 230. In some embodiments, a portion of the first interlockingfeature 386A may be pinched within the neck portion 310 of the flexaperture 384 (due to the head portions 406 of adjacent interlockingfeatures) such that the head portion 406 of the first interlockingfeature 386A may extend upwards or downwards relative to the second row398 while remaining secured thereto.

In other embodiments, the interlocking features may bend in multipledirections and orientations. FIG. 7A is a bottom fragmentary perspectiveview of another embodiment of the geometric pattern 482 includinginterlocking features 502 that may bend in two directions. FIG. 7B is atop perspective view of the geometric pattern 482. FIG. 7C is a top planview of an interlocking feature 502A removed from the geometric pattern482. In this embodiment, rows 498, 500 may be formed of a series ofseparately interlocked features 502A, 502B, 502C, 502D, 502E. In thismanner, due to the flex apertures 484 separating portions of thematerial 230, the interlocking features 502 may be discrete elementsmovable connected together to form rows 498, 500. That is, unlike therows 298, 300 and rows 398, 400 which may include a main portion withadjacent interlocking features extending therefrom, the rows 498, 500may be formed of separate interlocking features 502 movably connectedtogether.

With reference to FIG. 7C, each interlocking feature 502A-502E mayinclude a main body 510 with one more locking members extendingtherefrom. For example, the interlocking features 502A-502E may includetwo legs 512, 514 extending from a first end of the main body 510, ahead 520 extending from a second end of the main body 510 opposite thelegs 512, 514, and a back portion 516 extending from a first side of themain body 510. Also, a second side of the main body 510 may define areceiving aperture 524. The receiving aperture 524 may include a neckportion 528 defined by two pinching members 522, 526 that may extendinto the receiving aperture 524 at the edge of the second side of themain body 510. A head receiving aperture 530 may be defined between thetwo legs 512, 514 of the interlocking feature 502.

In some embodiments, the edges of the rigid material 230 surrounding theflexible portion 204 may define portions of the interlocking features502A-502E. In these embodiments, these portions of interlocking features502 may operably connect to one or more other interlocking features502A-502E. Accordingly, some portions of the geometric pattern 482 mayinclude non-discrete interlocking features.

With reference to FIGS. 7A and 7C, the interlocking features 502A-502Emay be operably connected to one or more other interlocking features502A-502E. For example, within a middle portions of the geometricpattern 482, a first interlocking feature 502A may be operably connectedto four other interlocking features 502B, 502C, 502D, and 502E. Forexample, the head 520 of the interlocking feature 502C may be receivedwithin the head receiving aperture 530 in the first interlocking feature502A, where the back portion 516 of the first interlocking feature 502Amay be received within the receiving aperture 524 of the secondinterlocking feature 502B, the head 520 of the first interlockingfeature 502A may be received within the head receiving aperture 530within the fourth interlocking feature 502D, and the back portion 516 ofthe fifth interlocking feature 502E may be received within the receivingaperture 524 of the first interlocking feature 502A. Thus, the firstinterlocking feature 502A may be operably connected to each of the otherinterlocking features 502B, 502C, 502D, 502E.

It should be noted that the bending radius of the rigid material orforming material may be modified by varying one or more parameters ofthe geometric pattern. A few parameters include, width of the flexaperture, angulation of the sidewalls boarding the flex apertures orgrooves, pitch of the cuts, and thickness of the rigid material.

As briefly discussed above, the rigid material 230 may be used to formthe enclosure 202 for the electronic device 200. FIG. 8A is aperspective view of another embodiment of the electronic device 600.FIG. 8B is a perspective view of the electronic device in a flexedposition. In FIGS. 8A and 8B, the electronic device 500 is an audiooutput mechanism such as headphones operably and electronicallyconnected to a communication cable 603. The communication cable 603 maybe operably connected to a speaker 605 by the enclosure 602.

The enclosure 602 may be formed of the rigid material 230 and mayoptionally be operably connected to a second portion of top of theenclosure 607. In other embodiments, the enclosure 602 may be asubstantially unitary structure, with the flexible portion 604 beinglocated near the connection to the cable 603. The enclosure 602, asshown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, may include the geometric pattern 382 of FIGS.6A-6C along the length of the flexible portion 604. This may allow theenclosure 602 to bend, while still maintaining a rigid connection to thespeaker 605. For example, the communication cable 603 may be flexibleand may move relative to the enclosure 602, which in conventional rigidenclosures may cause the enclosure to wear and/or crack over time. Asthe enclosure 602 may bend and flex as the communication cable 603 maymove. Thus, the enclosure 602 may be substantially prevented frombreaking or cracking due to the movement of the communication cable 603.Additionally, the flexibility of the enclosure 602 may increase thebending radius of the communication cable 603 at the connectionlocation. This may provide a strain relief for the cable 603, which mayhelp to prevent internal wires or the cable 603 itself from breaking dueto a bending force. It should be noted that although the enclosure 602is positioned at the end of the cable closest to the speakers, it shouldbe noted that the enclosure may be positioned at other locations wherestrain relief may be desired. For example, the flexile portion of theenclosure may be positioned at a second end of the cable that mayconnect the cable to an electronic device (e.g., through an audio portor the like). In this example, the flexibility of the enclosure mayallow the cable to remain connected to the port, but may also flex orbend.

Using the techniques described herein, a cover, band, or the like may beformed using a rigid or substantially rigid material. FIG. 9A is a topplan view of a cover for an electronic device including a geometricpattern defined therein. FIG. 9B is a side elevation view of the coverand the electronic device of FIG. 9A with the cover partially retracted.FIG. 9C is a top perspective view of the cover and the electronic deviceof FIG. 9A with the cover fully retracted and acting as a support orstand for the electronic device. With reference to FIGS. 9A-9C, anelectronic device 700 including a cover 704 having the geometric pattern282 defined therein.

As described above with respect to FIG. 5C, the geometric pattern 282may include a plurality of flex apertures 284 and interlocking featuresthat allow the rigid material forming the cover 704 to bend or flex. Inthe embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9A-9C, the angulation of thefeatures defined in the cover 704 allows the cover 704 to be rolledaround itself. In some embodiments, the geometric pattern 282 may besubstantially the same as the pattern shown in FIG. 5C. However, in theexample illustrated in FIG. 9A, the flex apertures 284 may be defined invertical columns that extend along a height of the computing device 702.This configuration may allow the entire cover 704 to flex about an axisparallel to the length axis of the computing device 702. In other words,the cover 704 may roll or flex in a direction substantially parallel tothe direction of the columns of the flex apertures 284. However, itshould be noted that the geometric pattern for the cover may be selectedbased on a desired flex direction, bend radius, and the like. Thus, thegeometric pattern and the bending direction illustrated in FIGS. 9A-9Care illustrative only.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the cover 704 may lie substantially flat againstthe top surface of the computing device 702 and may protect a display712 or other portions of the computing device 702. With reference toFIG. 9A, a first end 708 of the cover 704 may be rolled towards a secondend 710 forming a rolled portion 706. As the cover 704 is rolled uponitself, the display 712 or other portions of the computing device 702may be exposed.

In some embodiments, with reference to FIG. 9C, the cover 702 may beconfigured to roll and wrap around an edge of the computing device 702to act as a support stand. For example, a portion of the computingdevice 702 may rest on the rolled portion 706 of the cover 704, whichmay allow the computing device 702 to be supported above a surface at asupport angle 714. The support angle 714 may generally correspond to theoutermost radius of the bend portion 706. In other words, the radialbend of the cover 704 may be defined by geometric pattern, theangulation of the sidewalls defining the flex apertures and thefeatures.

With continued reference to FIG. 9C, the second end 710 of the cover 704may be anchored to an edge 716 of the computing device 702 and mayrotate about the edge 716, allowing the rolled portion 706 of the cover704 to rotate around the edge 716 to a backside of the computing device702.

CONCLUSION

The foregoing description has broad application. For example, whileexamples disclosed herein may focus on enclosures, it should beappreciated that the concepts disclosed herein may equally apply tosubstantially any other components constructed out of rigid materials,such as, but not limited to, garage doors, coverings for architecturalopenings (e.g., blinds or shades), bands for supporting an electronicdevice around a portion of a user, and so on. Moreover, although thediscussion is made with respect to rigid materials, the methods andtechniques may be applied to a variety of materials where an increasedflexibility or a flexible portion is desired. Accordingly, thediscussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary and is notintended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including theclaims, is limited to these examples.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for creating a flexible portion in arigid material, comprising: providing a substantially rigid material;and selectively removing portions of the rigid material defining ageometric pattern in the rigid material, the geometric pattern definingthe flexible portion; wherein a bend radius of the flexible material isdefined by the geometric pattern.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thegeometric pattern comprises: at least two flex apertures; and at leasttwo sidewalls bordering and defining the flex apertures; wherein thesidewalls are angled between a first surface of the rigid material and asecond surface of the rigid material.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe flexible structure includes a first flexible portion having a firstbend radius and a second flexible portion having a second flexibleportion.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively removing portionsof the rigid material comprises at least one of heating the rigidmaterial with a laser or using electrical discharge machining.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein at least one surface of the rigid material issubstantially planar.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the rigidmaterial is a three-dimensional shape.
 7. A method for creating anenclosure for an electronic device comprising: providing a rigidmaterial; and removing sections of the rigid material to create ageometric pattern.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the operation ofproviding a rigid material further comprises metal molding the rigidmaterial.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein removing sections of therigid material is performed by a laser cutting device.
 10. An enclosureformed of a substantially rigid material comprising: a first pluralityof flex apertures defined within the rigid material along a first row; asecond plurality of flex apertures defined within the rigid materialalong a second row; wherein the second row is positioned below thesecond row; the first plurality of flex apertures are misaligned withthe second plurality of flex apertures such that a first end of each ofthe first plurality of flex apertures is in a different vertical planefrom a first end of each of the second plurality of flex apertures; andwhen a bending force is applied to one of the first row or the secondrow, the first plurality of flex apertures and the second plurality offlex apertures vary in shape or dimension, allowing the rigid materialto bend.
 11. The enclosure of claim 10, wherein the first plurality offlex apertures and the second plurality of flex apertures aresubstantially diamond shaped.
 12. A housing of a substantially rigidmaterial, comprising: a first plurality of interlocking features definedwithin the rigid material; a second plurality of interlocking featuresdefined within the rigid material; and a plurality of flex aperturesdefined between the first plurality of interlocking features and thesecond plurality of interlocking features to separate the firstplurality of interlocking features from the second plurality ofinterlocking features; wherein the first plurality of interlockingfeatures is movable relative to the second plurality of interlockingfeatures.
 13. The housing of claim 12, wherein the first plurality ofinterlocking features and the second plurality of interlocking featuresare substantially frustum shaped.
 14. The housing of claim 12, whereineach of the first plurality of interlocking features include at leastone sidewall, wherein the at least one sidewall changes in angularorientation from a first surface of the rigid material to a secondsurface of the rigid material.
 15. The housing of claim 14, wherein eachof the second plurality of interlocking features include at least onesidewall, wherein the at least one sidewall changes in angularorientation from the first surface of the rigid material to a secondsurface of the rigid material.
 16. A method of manufacturing a flexiblecomponent, comprising: providing a substantially rigid material; andremoving portions of the rigid material to create a plurality of flexapertures, wherein the flex apertures are defined by interlockingfeatures adjacent each other and spaced apart by the flex apertures;wherein each interlocking feature has at least one sidewall and an angleof the sidewall determines a radial bend of the rigid material; and therigid material is non-cylindrical.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereinthe rigid material is planar.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein ageometric pattern is defined in the rigid material by the plurality offlex apertures.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein a first side of therigid material has a first geometric pattern and the second side of therigid material has a second geometric pattern.
 20. The method of claim16, wherein removing portions of the rigid material is done by one of amulti-axis laser or electrical discharge machining.